SCHOOLS across Derbyshire have achieved their best GCSE results in another record-breaking year.

Among those improving their results were da Vinci Community College, in Breadsall Hilltop, where 40% of pupils gained the gold standard five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths – up 4% on last year.

Mark Cottingham, head of da Vinci, said: "We are delighted, this is a record for the school."

At Belper School, 77% of pupils achieved five or more A* to C grades in all subjects – 15% up on the previous year, with 59% including English and maths compared to 52%. Head teacher Trevor Harding said: “We are really pleased with our overall results and they are the best ever for the school. “There has been a big hike in the figures and there have been some excellent individual performances.”At Murray Park School in Mickleover the headline results were:5+ A*-C (E&M) 54% 5+ A* -C 80%Head Eddie Green said: "I am delighted that the 2011 results have yet again seen students at Murray Park exceed their expected levels of performance. "Our 5+ A* - C figure is 4% above our target and will place us in the top 10% of similar schools across the country. We have on many occasions been in the top 25% over the last few years, but this is the first time we will have been in the top 10% according to the DfE database. "Our 5+ A*- C figure of 80% is a school record and reflects the hard work and dedication by students and staff alike. "This is my final set of results at Murray Park and I am thrilled to be leaving with the students having achieved two “firsts” and with so many students making progress above and beyond what they were expected to do."IMAGES:See a gallery of images of students celebrating at Murray Park here on Mickleover People.IMAGES: Pupils at Belper School are also pictured here on Belper People collecting their results.To find out how Highfields School in Matlock got on this year read our report here .One particular Highfields School pupil had even more reason to celebrate. Sarah Howarth achieved nine GCSE passes, including four A grades, despite battling a major illness during her time at school.Sarah suffers from cystic fibrosis and missed many months of schooling due to hospital stays. In January 2010 Sarah underwent a lung transplant that has transformed her life. Sarah is planning to stay on at Highfields School to study for A levels in Maths. Read the full, inspirational story here on Matlock People.IMAGES Pictures of pupils at Highfield School in Matlock are now on Matlock People.At Swanwick Hall School, pupils achieved their best-ever results for the fourth-year running, with 75% gaining five or more A* to C grades in all subjects and 48% including English and Maths. The overall pass rate was 100%Head teacher Jonathan Fawcett said: “I’m delighted because it was a fantastic year group to work with and it was lovely to see all the smiling faces and happy phone calls. “GCSE day was all about celebrating that the students have finished their full-time education and we’ve helped them on to the next step of their lives.”Students and staff at John Flamsteed School in Denby are (pictured above) celebrating record results.Head Danny Holden said: “We are very pleased with this really good set of examination results with some exceptional individual performances across the ability range. "Reaching a record figure of 60% of students gaining 5 A*-C grades or more including English and Mathematics marks a real achievement for the school. It is very satisfying when hard work and commitment from students, staff and parents are rewarded in this way.”Record breaking GCSE and BTEC results were also recorded at John Port School in Etwall. The percentage of students gaining 5A* - C grades exceeded 90% for the first time and this year's percentage (90.6) is the highest ever. The percentage of students gaining 5A* - C grades including mathematics and English was 69% and the proportion of grades at A* and A was approaching 30%. Head Wendy Sharp said: "The school’s results have improved again this year and are testimony to the hard work and preparation of students and staff. The whole school community is truly proud of this level of performance. "As always, strong support from our parent body is a major factor to our success."

It was a similar picture at Lees Brook Community Sports College in Chaddesden, where 62% of pupils gained five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths, up 1% from 2010.

Students at Anthony Gell School in Wirksworth achieved the school’s best ever GCSE results. 66% of students achieved five higher grades including English and maths with 85% achieving five higher grades in total.Headteacher David Baker said: "Our students have done fantastically well this year and I am incredibly proud of what they have achieved. "The percentage of our students gaining five higher grades with English and maths has gone up by 20n percentage points in the last five years. This is a reflection of the hard work of staff and students and the excellent support from parents." Overall results:5A*-C including English and Maths 66%5A*-C 85%C or above 73%5 GCSE passes 97%Average points score per student 483Average capped points score per student 351At Mill Hill School, in Ripley, there was a large increase in the number of pupils achieving five A* to C grades.

A total of 93% of candidates scored five A* to C grades – a 14% increase from last year and a 27% rise from 2009.

A total of 55% achieved the gold standard five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths – compared with 53% last year.

In another record for the school, over a third of students (36%) achieved three or more A* and A grades, up from 22% last year.

In English, 75% of students achieved A* to C, compared with 67% last year.

Head teacher Sarah Graham said she was delighted with this year's results and praised the students, staff and parents.

She said: "We are aiming to improve even further next year.

"At Mill Hill School, we have very talented staff who are working closely with parents to bring about success for all students."

Of the 203 students in year 11, 129 applied for a place in the sixth form, which is a record high for the school.

Heanor Gate Science College was today was celebrating its best ever GCSE results with 82% of students achieving 5A*-C grades - a 10 per cent improvement on last year. 55% of students achieved 5A*-C grades including English and maths and 98% of students achieved 5A*-G grades.Exceptional individual achievements included:Jordan Charlesworth 10A* Ben Prime 10A*Kieran Saxton 10A*The overall results at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Ashbourne were:33% of exams graded A*/A77% of exams graded A* - C71% of Year group gain 5 A* - C66% of Year group gain 5 A* - C including Maths and EnglishTop 29 students gain 319 A*/A grades63% of Year group gain at least 1 A*/A grade.QEGS Headmaster, Dr Roger Wilkes, congratulated all of the students on their achievements and expressed his thanks to the staff who have taught them.You can see pictures of some QEGs students opening their results here on Ashbourne People.Martyn Cooper, head teacher of Frederick Gent School, South Normanton, was also delighted with his school's performance.He said: "We are absolutely 'well chuffed' with the results which have sealed a hat-trick of record results for the last three years running which is a tremendous achievement by staff and students. "Over the last three years there has been a significant increase in results - 5A*-C EM has risen from 39% to 57% and 5A*-C All subjects has risen from 50% to 86%.5A*-C EM 57.1% (6% increase on last year, 1% above target)5A*-C All 85.7% (17% increase on last year, 14% above target)5A*-G EM 96.3% (1% increase on last year)5A*-G All 97.9% (1% increase on last year)1A*-G All 100% (2% increase on last year)

Derby High School, in Littleover achieved outstanding GCSE results with 69% of all grades achieved being A* or A – a figure that has been beaten at the school only twice in the past 10 years.

The percentage of A* grades was 35%, with 36% of the 44 candidates at the school scoring all A* and A grades and 15 girls achieving at least five A* grades.

Every candidate at the school achieved five A* to C grades and 97.7% of students achieved five A* to C grades including maths and English.

Colin Callaghan, head teacher at the school, said he was delighted with this year's results.

He said: "I am particularly pleased at the consistently high levels of achievement by our girls at GCSE.

"The results achieved this year have raised our three-year average of A* grades to its second highest in the past eight years.

"Once again, all girls who took GCSEs here this year have achieved results which in many cases have exceeded even their own hopes and expectations."

At Lees Brook Community Sports College, in Chaddesden, a total of 93% of pupils gained five or more A* to C grades and, of those, 62% gained five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths.

This set a new best-ever result for the school, in Morley Road.

Head teacher Phil Dover said: "We are pleased about breaking the record. We still think our results need to be better and can be so. We look forward to next year."

Pupils picked up their results from the school's post-16 centre because extensive repair work is being carried out to the main school.

At St Benedict Catholic School, in Darley Abbey, there was a mammoth 13-percentage-point improvement, with 56% of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths, compared with 43% last year.

A school spokesman said: "We are very delighted by the increase achieved after pupils and staff worked extremely hard."

At Ockbrook School, 46 pupils took GCSE exams, with half of them gaining straight A*s and As.

It meant that 85% gained five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths, and 98% passed five or more including all subjects.

Trent College, in Long Eaton, was also celebrating its best-ever GCSE exam results.

The school's overall pass rate of A* to C grades was 94.7%, with almost half of all grades achieved (49.2%) in the top A* to A grade band and 18.3% at A* grade.

A total of 120 candidates sat GCSEs at Trent College this year, with 21 of those students scoring all A*s or As in their nine or more subjects.

Head teacher Gill Dixon said: "To achieve record results in both the A-level and GCSE exams this year reflects the hard work and dedication of the pupils and staff in trying to ensure every individual has every opportunity to be the very best they can be."

Noel-Baker Community School managed to record a similar figure to last year, with 37% of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths.

Head teacher Mal Kerr said: "We've had some really strong individual results against a good whole-school performance with most indicators up from last year."

Merrill College, in Alvaston, which became a National Challenge Trust school almost 12 months ago because it needed to improve its performance, looks to have increased the number of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades.

Final figures have still to be worked out but it is likely that the figure will be 34%, up from 32% last year.

At Woodlands School, in Allestree, pupils and staff were celebrating 81% of students gaining five or more A* to C grades, with 66% gaining five or more higher grade GCSE's, including English and maths.

Head teacher Alan Brady said: "I am very pleased with the results and congratulate all the students who have done so well. I am immensely proud of their achievements and pay tribute to their hard work and commitment. None of this would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of a committed staff."

At Littleover Community School, head teacher Ash Venkatesh refused to be downhearted after the percentage of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths, fell from 88% in 2010 to 83% this year.

He said: "We are delighted to announce that our pupils have achieved outstanding results, continuing the proud tradition of recent years.

"An unprecedented 96% of pupils attained five or more A*-C grades overall. Four pupils achieved 9 A* grades, a tremendous achievement for anyone.

"We are particularly pleased that all our pupils, including those with special leaning needs and some who have had to overcome serious challenges, have completed the course and achieved some GCSE grades.

"We are very proud of the fact that our pupils take a wide range of demanding and credible GCSE courses, which have high value in the workplace and in further and higher education."

City council education officials took time out to visit schools in Derby.

Assistant strategic director Lynda Poole took time out to visit Chellaston, Merrill and Noel-Baker schools and Alan Stubbersfield, was at Woodlands, Derby Moor and Littleover schools.

Evonne Williams, city council cabinet member for children and young people, said: "This year, results look good for Derby pupils with a significant number of schools achieving their best ever results."

Reaction on TwitterChriswMP Chris Williamson Good luck to Derby students with GCSE results today.thelawns Richard Johnson Big congrats to @jamespclarke who got 3 A's, 5 B's and 2 C's and got into 6th form. #GCSEresultsCalliParade Calli by BenBiancaFanI hope @TeamSian does well with her exams, and gets the results she wants! :)MickleoverPeeps Mickleover People Congratulations to Murray Park students on their #GCSE results - photos now on Mickleover People http://ow.ly/6cnD4HelenDrewFizzy - Helen Racheal - Much love and all the best to my big brother Alex and his lovely friend Jorgie today with their results! Hope all goes well for them!Be the first with breaking news and updates - follow ThisisDerbyshire on Twitter @Derbyshire NewsSHARE: Let us know how your school performed this year. Send us your individual results and celebration pictures too! Email julie.bayley@northcliffemedia.co.uk

Comments

'harvey69' and I seem to be in agreement on the problem but not the solution. Drifting back to an earlier system of different types of school for different types of pupils assumes they can all be divided at 11 into 'academic' (grammar schools), 'practical/vocational' (technical schools) and maybe another ('secondary modern'?). The reality is, children/people can be both 'academic' and 'practical' : Churchill (who I know did very badly at school) was a good enough writer to earn himself a Nobel Prize for Literature (and to throw together one or two decent speeches!) but also loved doing practical things like building walls and artistic things like painting. We can all, perhaps, think of better examples within our friendship circles. Furthermore, children develop at different rates and may find a skill or a passion later on in their school career. So I don't subscribe to the 'bring back grammar schools' campaign - far from it. I haven't got space here to speak up for the comprehensive principle but suffice it to say it was undermined from the word go by the continuance of grammar schools/11+ in some areas and phenomena like private education and church schools.

I'm in total agreement 'homelink' - league tables just ensure that schools have to play a game to please governments.
We need an education system which is beyond politics where pupils have the best education - which is geared to their personal needs and ability. Academic children should be taken down an academic route; those children who are less academic shouldn't be forced to sit qualifications that they have no chance of getting - how demoralising! There should be worthwhile vocational subjects and Btecs in relevant subjects. But let's face it - education has been messed around with for years. I do feel for schools, teachers and pupils - people want them all to be totally academic AND practical AND ready for work... and to be fair, schools can't work alone - it needs to be a community effort. Employers, parents and teachers need to work together and perhaps actually listen to each others needs. And perhaps accepting that just because pupils do not have a pass in English and / or maths, does not make them illiterate or innumerate. After all, does everyone of our 'older' generation have all these desired qualifications? I have to admit, I do not have enough of the 'Ebacc' subjects to be considered a success. But I am very successful and went to university. Was I 'ready for work'? Nope. I learnt those skills by working with talented and successful people in the workplace and as I matured!
Davidsims5 - I don't have personal information about the school - I read the quote about 75% of children passing English from this article!
By the way, I have really enjoyed this debate!

Be careful, truth999, of drawing false conclusions. Amongst the 45% in your example who DIDN'T get 5+EM will be students who could pass one but not the other and one or two who got BOTH English and Maths but couldn't get 3 others. Also, is it fair to suggest that those 45% 'cannot read or write properly' when a good number will have missed a 'pass' in English by a handful of marks? Of course not!
It is a sad fact that schools are in a competitive environment in which they are often judged on a few statistics and their position in a league table. It is inevitable that they will use whatever legitimate strategies are available to maximise the figures, such as choice of exam board, early entry and BTECs. They have also learnt from business and politics how to 'spin' their achievements so they appear in the best light. If you don't like that, you need to convince politicians of all parties that making schools compete is actually wasteful of time and resources and distorts the outcome - but I don't rate your chances! The current Sec of State, Michael Gove, seems intent on controlling what schools do not by simple diktat but by so-called 'nudging' ie changing the information to appear in league tables so schools focus more, say, on 'academic' subjects including languages. Not necessarily a bad thing but will we in a few years' time be bemoaning the lack of practical skills being taught in schools because everyone is being forced to do French and Geography instead of Engineering or Motor Vehicle Studies in order that schools appear high up on the 'E Bacc' list?
Finally, as the parent of a student who has done very well in the recent results, can I ask that we congratulate him and his peers (and the teachers who supported them so well) rather than looking for ways of undermining their achievements? It is NOT true that vast numbers of our young people are unable to read, write and add up or that they lack the basic skills needed to get a job, as some local employers are trying to suggest. Anecdotally, I know my son and his friends have been trying to get part-time work over the summer - maybe there's not much about but it's sad that very few of the employers approached even managed to get back with a rejection message. Wonder where THEY learnt their manners!

"Harvey" I think that the point "Truth999" was making is about all schools and not just one from this County! Also your comments about the 75% gaining a C in English show some inside knowledge of the school in question? Even if this is good they still have 45% who cannot add up and so do others as well. How can that be acceptable any year!
I am also concerned as a local employer as to why can so many pass "GCSE" standard but not English and Maths which are the most crucial of all. Answer; standards have slipped in some exam boards, and also BTEC has been awarded to a GCSE level too freely. I have visited schools and colleges and seen this for myself. I would also add that this is not the fault of kids but the exam boards and schools in the choices they make. Also a lot of employers including us are now saying that BTEC pupils grades are not comparable which is a shame as I am a believer in vocational education and take on many apprentices and trainees without the proper skills every year. Schools are not preparing them for work in any way shape or form. We need real vocational training hands on and also rigorous lessons.
I would hope that all schools in the UK narrow the gap between E&M and overall pass rate to show that they are achieving where it matters. I would certainly say that would give me more confidence.
Also what are the targets that Truth999 spoke about, if schools have them why not print them as well when we talk about figures. What is being hidden here? How do we know that improvements for each school are not to do with having brighter children for that year?

Firstly, congratulations to all schools and pupils on their hard work and success in whatever subject or course that they took. Whether Btec, whether re-takes, whatever exam board! No child can be successful; no school can improve without hard work from all concerned. Please don't forget that we should be proud of this.
It is good to see all the headteachers showing their pride in their students success.
I am interested, Truth999, that you highlight and criticise Mill Hill when similar schools in the same area - Heanor Gate for instance - have almost identical figures? Perhaps you should notice how badly Swanwick Hall have done. Obviously, I am sure you didn't mean to sound so vindictive against one school when you were merely making a point about the education system.
Going back to Mill Hill, with the 5 A* - C incl English and Maths having increased and 75% of students gaining C grades or better in English would suggest that the school is focusing on the important things.
Once again - very well done to all schools and all students!

Just checked back later in the day, interesting now the figures quoted from schools such as Murray Park School in Mickleover show the result against target which has a much better context. Also we are starting to see which schools in Derbyshire can really be proud and the ones who are just coming out with soundbites!
Also when you look at schools such as John Flamsteed and think of their catchment area they are doing really well. Also Belper show that they are the business!

Very sad and concerning when you look at schools like Mill Hill where 93% can pass subjects but only 55% with Eng / Maths. Shows how the BTEC easy subjects which give you a very easy C grade can swamp the real picture where 45% of pupils at this school for example who cannot read and write properly after many years of formal education.
It is obvious which schools have played the game with exam boards, retakes and BTEC's and those who have actually tried to improve the important grades.
Also these figures are meaningless to compare anyway as each school has a cohort of a different level of intelligence so comparing one year to another needs the context of the targets for each school. You report does not include this but if you call back some of these schools you will find that the targets for E&M have not been met.
Is this just a mouthpiece for the head teachers or a credible piece of journalism?